ERIC Number: EJ1309643
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jun
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1307-9298
EISSN: N/A
Multi-Layered Language Policy and Translanguaging Space a Mother Tongue Classroom in Primary School in Sweden
International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, v13 n5 p699-711 Jun 2021
This article is aimed to demonstrate how language policy at the local school level may create space for translanguaging. Focus is on a Mother Tongue (MT) classroom for Somali in a primary school in Sweden by way of an analysis of layers of language policy, with focus on spatial aspects. The empirical material consists of policy documents, interviews and observations documented through field notes and photographs from an MT Somali classroom with grade six students. Through the use of a framework of language policy as layered and linguistic landscaping with a focus on aspects of time, place and social factors, the analysis shows how the mother tongue classroom may constitute a demarcated room, while simultaneously interacting with other spaces both inside and outside school. The understanding of policy as layered made power relations visible in terms of language that moves between layers. It also made visible how school discourses shift between micro/macro, management/practice and inside/outside in the creation of space dominated by Somali and Swedish. It became apparent that an environment that supports the use of Somali inside the MT classroom may increase the likelihood of the pupils using Somali outside the classroom.
Descriptors: Code Switching (Language), Photography, African Languages, Native Language, Language of Instruction, Foreign Countries, Educational Policy, Elementary School Students, Grade 6, Language Usage, Second Language Learning, Power Structure, Swedish, Classroom Communication, Classroom Techniques, Immigrants, Refugees, Multilingualism, Signs, Educational Technology
International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education. T&K Akademic Rosendalsvein 45, Oslo 1166, Norway. e-mail: iejee@iejee.com; Web site: https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A